Playmakers

In Luke 12, we see where Jesus is teaching on faithfulness.  We read:
42 And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?

43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.

44 Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.

God is calling us to a life of obedience, and directing us to, as you might say in a sporting sense, "make plays" for the Kingdom.  That may not involving doing something big, although you never want to rule that out; rather, He expects us to allow the Spirit to direct us and empower us to be faithful to God.  God is not a ruthless taskmaster, standing over us to make sure we are complying with His wishes; rather, He offers us the opportunity to partner with Him to make His name known, motivated by the Spirit and taking the Spirit-inspired initiative to walk in His ways.

+++++

In doing the work of the Kingdom, God will call us to be faithful - in small things, and maybe in big things - He is calling us to execute His plan, to be a "playmaker" for His glory.  Luke 16 says:
10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.

11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?

12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man's, who will give you what is your own?

Two evenly matched teams - a rematch of a classic collegiate national championship game, and in the early morning hours in the Eastern time zone, a new champion has emerged.  If you are a Crimson Tide fan, please don't tune me out; it's a disappointing loss for your team, who compiled an undefeated season, but the night - and the trophy - now belongs to Clemson, coached by one of Alabama's own, Dabo Swinney.

I've commented on Dabo before.  You can actually read a blog post from the day of last year's championship game about the faith expressions of Coach Swinney and last year's Alabama Heisman winner, Derrick Henry.  You could say that the coach definitely has that playmaking ability - not only through coaching young men to make plays, but to make plays for the Kingdom of God.

He told Sports Illustrated:

If I can have a positive influence on somebody's life, I think that's great. I really do. I think if my faith is inspiring to other people, that's pleasing to God. Because according to my faith, you're not supposed to hide it. You're supposed to live it. My job is to coach and win football games. I'm very thankful to my maker because I know how blessed I am just to have today and to have the opportunities that I have.

One of last night's playmakers, quarterback Deshaun Watson, on his Instagram page, says: 

God, Family, School, Football. Clemson Student-Athlete. God has truly blessed me. Living my dreams.

One of the first pictures you see is that of a dressed-up Watson wearing a cross chain around his neck. Another playmaker for the Crimson Tide this year, SEC Offensive Player of the Year Jalen Hurts, wrote on Twitter in November:

Life is like a Book. God has already written every chapter of my life. I'm just reading it one page at a time.

He followed that with the hashtag #AllGloryToGod.

The game last night - well, it came down to the playmakers - it looked like, after a bit of a drought, that Hurts had made the definitive play late in the game, but Deshaun Watson led the Tigers down the field - and he had some playmakers, such as Williams, Leggett, and Renfrow, to help him along.  Alabama, unfortunately, didn't get the ball to its playmakers enough on offense, and in the end, it likely forced the defensive playmakers to face the final drive with reduced capacity.

Speaking of playmakers, Chelsen Vicari over at the Institute on Religion and Democracy, has identified some "playmakers" in the evangelical community.  There are seven listed; one such individual is Michael Wear, who had taken Hillary Clinton to task for not reaching out to evangelicals.  Vicari writes:

Whether or not you agree with Wear’s politics, his rapidly growing influence within Evangelicalism is undeniable.

Wear is theologically conservative on issues like abortion and marriage and has spoken out about some antagonistic attitudes towards conservative Christians within the Obama Administration.

He actually worked in the Administration in faith-based capacities.  I would say that had to have been very difficult when representing officials that embraced and enacted policies that contradicted the beliefs of many in the faith community, especially evangelicals.  His new book, out next week has according to the article, "garnered praise from a wide range of Evangelical figures including Timothy Keller, Lou Giglio, and Russell Moore."

Vicari also highlights Trillia Newbell, who serves as  Director of Community Outreach for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention.  Vicari writes, "Newbell’s observations on theology, womanhood, racial diversity, and family are increasingly heard at Christian conferences and colleges."

Another featured "playmaker" is Garrett Kell, pastor of Del Ray Baptist Church in Alexandria, VA. He spoke last year at the Evangelicals for Life conference in Washington, D.C.  Vicari writes "He also tackles tough theology and culture questions including abortion, adultery, transgenderism, pornography, and racial reconciliation."

There's also Jennifer Cannon-Murff, who teaches at Regent University and serves as president of Millennials for Marriage, which the article describes as "a faith-based non-profit working to change the younger generation’s distorted perspectives on marriage."

I don't think the point of the article is to exalt certain emerging Christian leaders, rather to highlight their work and to let readers know that these individuals are making an impact for the Kingdom and they should be recognized.

So what makes a "Kingdom playmaker?" I think there's a certain amount of dedication to Christ, a desire to make Him known, and perhaps even to be willing to say what needs to be said or do what God calls him or her to do.  And, I don't think that it has anything to do with become famous.

This can take the form of broad and sweeping actions.  Or, it can be just the little things - being faithful to execute what God has called you to do. 

In a sense, we are called to be playmakers - last night, Clemson and Alabama had a number of what you would call "big plays."  But, the faithfulness to execute or the failure to execute made the difference in the game.  So, we aren't "going long" for the Kingdom all the time, even though God may be calling you to do something large-scale or long-term to minister to people.  Consistently, though, He calls us to be faithful in the fundamentals, to obey Him and to further the cause of Christ.